Best Story Wins How to Build Brands That Break the Rules and Win with Scott Smith of Intercom
Sep 11, 2025
53:39
When everyone’s shouting that they’re “#1 in AI,” how do you actually stand out? Sometimes, the move isn’t a flashy campaign—it’s just saying what you mean, clearly and confidently.
This week, we sit down with Scott Smith, VP of Brand at Intercom and the creative mind behind Fin, their new AI agent. Scott speaks about how they built a brand that breaks the rules—ditching rigid style guides for something more like a magazine: expressive, evolving, and full of soul. We talk about what it takes to launch a new brand inside a legacy company, how “boring” billboards became their secret weapon, and why AI isn’t here to steal creative jobs—it’s here to level up the whole game.
We also get into:
- Why great art direction matters more than ever in an AI-first world
- How Intercom reimagined branding as a living, breathing system
- Letting go of the “creative genius” myth and building with your team
- What it looks like when in-house creative teams run like agencies
This week, we sit down with Scott Smith, VP of Brand at Intercom and the creative mind behind Fin, their new AI agent. Scott speaks about how they built a brand that breaks the rules—ditching rigid style guides for something more like a magazine: expressive, evolving, and full of soul. We talk about what it takes to launch a new brand inside a legacy company, how “boring” billboards became their secret weapon, and why AI isn’t here to steal creative jobs—it’s here to level up the whole game.
We also get into:
- Why great art direction matters more than ever in an AI-first world
- How Intercom reimagined branding as a living, breathing system
- Letting go of the “creative genius” myth and building with your team
- What it looks like when in-house creative teams run like agencies